India drawn in Group E for AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers

New Delhi: India were on Thursday drawn alongside Malaysia, Palestine, Singapore and Guam in Group E of the AFC U-17 men's Asian Cup Qualifiers following the official draw at the continental body's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

While the main tournament will be held in Uzbekistan next year, the Group E Qualifiers are slated to be held in Malaysia in a single round-robin league format from November 11 to 20.

India's campaign will begin with a clash against Singapore on November 11, before taking on Guam on November 14, followed by matches against Palestine on November 17, and hosting Malaysia on November 20.

The Qualifiers draw split 35 teams into seven groups of five. The group winners will qualify for the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2027, which is scheduled to be held in Uzbekistan from May 12 to 29, 2027.

Having qualified for the 2026 tournament in Saudi Arabia, where they were eliminated in the group stage, India will now aim to secure back-to-back appearances in the AFC U17 Asian Cup and qualify for the tournament for the 11th time in their history.

For the Qualifiers draw, the teams were seeded into five pots and an additional hosts' pot based on a points system derived from their final rankings across the most recent three editions of the Finals. India were seeded in Pot 1.

The seven group winners will progress to the AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027, where they will join the nine AFC representatives from the FIFA U17 World Cup Qatar 2026 who have automatically qualified. These teams are continental heavyweights Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027 Qualifiers Draw:

Group A: Indonesia, Myanmar (H), Afghanistan, Philippines, Cambodia

Group B: Thailand (H), Iraq, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei

Group C: UAE (H), Bangladesh, Syria, Bhutan, Macau

Group D: IR Iran, Laos (H), Jordan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

Group E: India, Malaysia (H), Palestine, Singapore, Guam

Group F: Yemen, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyz Republic (H), Mongolia, Northern Mariana Islands

Group G: Oman (H), Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Brunei Darussalam. PTI